​Art Installation Unveiling a Success

By Adelisa Badzic
 
During the past month, our courtyard has had new murals added to it. This project "The Legacy Project: The Eyes of Our Ancestors” was painted by local muralist Shawn Dunwoody.  His paintings include life-sized portraits of historical leaders and individuals, such as Martin Luther King Jr, Katherine Johnson, and Barack Obama, among others. 
 
This project was in the process since last year and finally this year, we got to see it. Dunwoody had help from one of our very own students, junior Jaenid Ayala. She volunteered to help paint some of these panels, and picked out three of the people who were represented in the paintings. She stated, “I think it was a really cool project. The people who were chosen to be put up were really remarkable. It's also super cool to see the Rochester natives up there.” The courtyard was a good place for it according to Jaenid because “you don't have to be in the courtyard to see it, you can see it anywhere you are in the building.”
 
The unveiling event took place January 9th, 2020 where Mayor Lovely Warren and Shawn Dunwoody were both present. Dunwoody stated, “You are the future, and this is the message we want to send to the young people on this campus.” More people will be added to this art installation as time goes on; there are currently 28 people represented.